Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 265,688 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,083 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $43,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the second quarter worth $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Johnson & Johnson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 58.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 69.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on JNJ. Citigroup increased their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Johnson & Johnson from $178.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Johnson & Johnson from $156.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Johnson & Johnson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Johnson & Johnson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.94.

Johnson & Johnson Trading Up 1.8 %

JNJ opened at $155.79 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $160.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Johnson & Johnson has a 12 month low of $143.13 and a 12 month high of $168.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $375.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.53.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.21. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 35.45%. The firm had revenue of $22.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Johnson & Johnson will post 9.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Johnson & Johnson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.78%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, VP Robert J. Decker sold 5,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.06, for a total transaction of $930,113.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,131,683.38. This represents a 22.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.